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- Done with the Perfunctory Box Checking
Done with the Perfunctory Box Checking
Institutions won't get away with it this time
mister mix
July 21, 2025
This isn’t surprising, since the Times’ “analysis” pieces have always been the voice of their leadership:
NYT top story declares Epstein scandal already over and Trump victorious. Base more united even. Evidence: Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, and JD Vance said so. And Elon Musk said he doesn’t like the WSJ. Not exactly neutral parties. It’s an editorial choice. Try to make it go away, not perpetuate it.
— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social)2025-07-21T12:34:51.792Z
As Atrios has been pointing out for the last couple of days (example), the Times finally decided to “notice” the Epstein issue, but as seen above, their DC bureau has already begun to tamp it down. When they stop writing about it even though it’s a big deal, their response will be that they did cover it. They made a perfunctory effort. The energy and focus that they put into something they really care about — Mamdani’s election the catastrophe it will be, the threat of trans folks to our social order, Biden’s age — is missing, but the box is checked.
Similarly, the token effort to stop the BBB was an exercise in box checking. Jeffries made a floor speech when it didn’t matter. When it did, he didn’t. I haven’t even seen anything from Schumer lately — it’s like he’s in hiding.
Reader J sent in this piece and it shows that a good number of Democrats aren’t going to stand for perfunctory box checking from our leaders and our institutions:
Democrats need to take bolder and more aggressive actions to oppose the Trump administration, protesters across the US told the Guardian during a day of rallies last week honoring the late congressman John Lewis.
[…]
Protesters also said they wanted to see Democrats stand up for their own values rather than tacking to the center or right during elections in an effort to win, which hasn’t been working. For some who rallied on Thursday, the Democrats’ position on the war in Gaza, and Joe Biden’s support for Israel, are bruising reminders that their party is out of step with its base. Palestinian flags flew among the marchers in Minneapolis, and people chanted to stop the war.
[…]
“There’s a lot more that I would like to see from them,” said Jace Snyder, a weather research technician from Lovejoy, Georgia, who attended the protest in Atlanta. Snyder is particularly concerned about the Trump administration’s cuts to federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).
“If they have to shut down the entire legislative process until the Republicans fold, OK, shut it down … Shut down the Senate. Don’t pass anything. Do whatever is needed to make it so that these cuts don’t happen to vital agencies.
[…]
Simon Elliott, from Minneapolis, said Democrats should embrace popular positions, like spending more on human needs than on war and deportations. “Right now we’ve seen the Democratic party and elected officials, they’re really in retreat,” Elliott said. “It seems as though they somehow are just overwhelmed by the pace at which the Trump administration is moving. We’ve seen very little resistance from the Democratic party.”
[…]
“Justice requires all of us to participate with our whole being, all of the time,” said Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor and a candidate for US Senate. “We are choosing courage over compromise.” From the crowd, a protester yelled “tell Amy!” an apparent reference to Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota’s senator who has voted to confirm some of Trump’s nominees.
I’d love it if Peggy Flanagan won that seat. She seems like a fighter.
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